The goal of earthquake prediction is to give warning of potentially damaging earthquakes early enough to allow appropriate response to the disaster, enabling people to minimize loss of life and property.

Ideally this would mean the fire departments would move their equipment and personnel outside of their building complex so they won’t be trapped in the event of the building collapsing.

Hospitals could move their more critical patients to hospitals outside the expected area of the quake. Operations could be postponed until a later date.

Hospitals could order more supplies and preposition them for use on victims.

Utilities could shut down gas and electrical power to reduce the probability of fires. Fresh water lines could also be turned off to reduce the loss of water that could well be needed during recovery from the quake.

Companies would be able let their employees off for the expected time period of the quake occurrence.

Bridges and overpasses could be closed reducing the possibility of people being trapped under them or on them.

Emergency response teams and equipment could be pre-positioned for a more timely response the quake affected area.

The water level in dams could be lowered to reduce the probability of flooding in the event of a dam failure.

The list goes on. This doesn’t mean that any of the above will happen; only that it is something to think about doing. Of course this all hinges on accurate earthquake predictions, which at present time does not exist. Take Care…Don in creepy town

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/predict.html

• Earthquake Prediction